Sweet As, Bro!!... NZ South Island 2016

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Up and up....


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Already high enough to see the coast....



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....and LOTS more to come!


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Things are getting STEEP and loose...and somewhat uncomfortable.
Sheer 400m drops off the outside of the fist-sized rock-peppered hairpin bends tend to do that, arghhh.


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How steep??? Just figure out the climb rate over the distance, looking at the track sneaking along the pine plantation down there.



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Dipping over the saddle....and we're on a different planet!:wot:





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Soul-fodder! :doh::glu:slobb




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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
The old Bluff Dump hut in the Clarence Valley




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...and the new, side-by-side.


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Time to get out of those pre-historic surrounds, backtracking with some trepidation regarding that looming descent.

First up the climb into the saddle...and Eivind's XT keeps spitting the dummy, overheating every 2k's, warning light flashing and all.
Not a good place for the donk to shit itself!
(later it turns out to be a totally clogged/ dust-packed radiator giving no further trouble after a good cleanup).



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With the shadows growing long, the ominous "$$-envelope" is deposited in some deserted farm building along the way and Kaikoura is in sight 10minutes later.


The end of a long day...




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The Panarama Motel delivers what it promises, the pub on the pier not just seems the choice of the locals (always a good sign!).




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If this was day 1...what the hell are we in for? :thumbs::wot:


Once again, things get hazy....


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It's a long way to the cot... down that Esplanade :bs


Sweet As, Bro!! :wink:
 

robbieb

Tassie Daddy
First up the climb into the saddle...and Eivind's XT keeps spitting the dummy, overheating every 2k's, warning light flashing and all.
Not a good place for the donk to shit itself!
(later it turns out to be a totally clogged/ dust-packed radiator giving no further trouble after a good cleanup).




Sweet As, Bro!! :wink:

Easiest way to stop that from happening, as Mr Teflon - Tassie Dave would attest - ride at the front!

So the Clarence Valley road is no through? Bloody conspiracy, Eh, Tim?

Sweet pics and report so far, keep it coming :woot:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Just waiting for you to blow the cobwebs off it, mate!

:bs
I'm pretty sure that it was the same DR that Goodie snorkeled up the Nevis last time....just waiting for me to repeat the performance :whistle::doh:


Besides....looks like Hakan's gone out of the hiring business, concentrating on guided ADV tours instead.
He sold his fleet of bikes (or at least most of them) to another mob.... still acting as booking agent for them.
They seemed to not be quite settled with that type of bike (and the clientele they attract), but plan to swap to DR's only in the future as they're easier and cheaper to service/ maintain (they've got their own workshops in AKL and CHC)

Currently the 3XT's and 3 DR's are the only D/S bikes on the South Island...if any would've become non-functional, the only replacement would've been
some F700/800 GS or Strom 650/1000 :rolleyes:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Hey, heyyy!!!

What a cracker of a morning! :thumbs:


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Snooping out a few dead-ends, beaches and the Redwood Pass near Blenheim, that's how the day turned out:


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Main target, Mt. Altimarloch, another one of those that'd stuck up my nose for a few years, iffy weather and high winds blocking previous attempts.
Looks like a "goer" this time around :drool:


First up Hwy1 along the coast though and Seal Rocks honour their name with lots of the tubby buggers on display.


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The usual "fill-up- procession", becoming 2.nature as the trip rolled on.
6 bikes fueled, paid and pulling out in under 10 mins. :so


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A leisurely stroll down some farming roads got us to Ward Beach for a look... Goldcoast, eat your heart out!


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Just north of Seddon it's a tack to the west, cruising amongst the endless vineyards of the Awatere Valley at the most northern part of the Molesworth route.
A very ordinary looking farm gate along the road hides the start of the Mt. Altimarloch track, a climb into heaven. :glu

The vistas back down the Awatere Valley and the nearby coast after the first part of the climb are STUNNING....each switchback offering more and ever more. :clap::clap:


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Nearly there!!


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Getting air!!!...the jump for joy :slobb



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BIG SKY, BIG VISTAS...make you wanna spread those wings and soar into the skies.:drool:
No surprise that the locals aren't too boisterous about this one, what an awesome place!! :wink:



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11KV?? In that cable laying on the ground??
YEP!!

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Scrounging about the bare and bald top of the mountain shows life everywhere.



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A long, final look towards the coast....



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...another into the mountains to the west....



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....before it's back down that rough, rocky track, hopping the rock ledges and trying to stay out of the rubble-filled ruts....



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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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Back in the valley, a quick run to the coast, crossing the highway to glimpse a little of the mouth of the Awatere River.
It's not the best vantage point, but the narrow walkway along the crumbly coastal cliffs is still impressive.




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The curse of the South Island....those gorse-bushes are just EVERYWHERE!!

If the thought of an "off" into the rocky scenery doesn't slow you down, nor the idea of surfing over some edge
arse-first, maybe those meat-shredders are worth a quick think. The spikes are around 2"-3" long, very sturdy and there are thousands of them on every man-sized bush.
And the bushes stand tight enough to be an impenetrable wall to all but a bulldozer.
When the bush dies, the spikes just dry out and get brittle as glass.
It's just plain deadly shit!
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/weeds-of-the-bush/page-2



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